Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds is pop’s best melodic writer since the heyday of Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. On The Day, Babyface makes that connection explicit by cowriting “How Come, How Long” with Wonder, who also contributes a duet vocal, a harmonica solo, and longtime bassist Nathan East to the session. Even more impressive is the fact that the eight songs Babyface wrote for The Day without his hero’s help also boast yearning melodies and ear-opening chord changes that are absolutely Wonder-ful.

The Day was the first album Babyface released after being elevated into a virtually guaranteed hitmaker in the mid-’90s through his work with Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, Madonna, and Mariah Carey, among many others. The album confirms his skill for subtle, inventive songwriting and accessible, polished yet soulful production. Babyface can straddle the line between hip-hop and traditional soul better than nearly any other artist, as evidenced by the hits he has orchestrated for other artists. On his own, he is still compelling — his voice is as smooth as silk, and nearly as seductive — but it doesn’t quite have the force of personality as his greatest productions. Nevertheless, The Day qualifies as state-of-the-art mid-’90s soul, featuring a handful of terrific songs, and a lot of extremely pleasurable filler. [The 2001 reissue adds historical liner notes and three bonus tracks: remixes of “Everytime I Close My Eyes,” “This Is For the Lover in You,” and “Everytime I Feel the Groove,” the last of which was previously unreleased and not found on the original album in any form].

Tracklist:
01. Every Time I Close My Eyes
02. Talk To Me
03. I Said I Love You
04. When Your Body Gets Weak
05. Simple Days
06. All Day Thinkin’
07. Seven Seas
08. The Day (That You Gave Me A Son)
09. How Come, How Long
10. This Is For The Lover In You
11. Every Time I Close My Eyes (Timbaland Remix) [Bonus track]
12. Every Time I Feel The Groove Remix (Urban Soul Basement Mix) [Bonus track]
13. This Is For The Lover In You (Honey Lookin’ Laced Extended Remix) [Bonus track]